Fire and Venom
by MyAssumption
Summary: One scars, the other kills. Bella's living a torturous half-life as a member of James's coven, while the Cullens search across the country with the goal of exacting revenge for her death. Alice’s visions are far from infallible.
1. Discomfort

Bella sat as still as a statue, gripping the arms of the chair tightly. Focusing on trying not to break through the fabric or crack the wood helped her control her other urges. She fought to entertain her mind with her tight grip, engrossing herself with offsetting her strength just right, but soon she'd gotten the right balance and her mind let the task drift backwards, unimportant, allowing other things to dominate her thoughts.

Just sitting still was too easy, so to divert herself she practiced bouncing her leg like some humans did. At first the motion was too stiff, jerking and fast, and she practiced making the motion slow and smooth. When she'd gotten that right, she let go of the arms of her chair and clasped her hands in her lap, watching as they jostled up and down to the rhythm of her leg. She tried other rhythms. She bounced both legs, alternately, together, discordantly, synchronized.

The rapid motion was driving her insane, and she clasped both of her hands on her knees, one on each knee. For an instant her mind felt the relief of stillness, but then her burning thirst was thrust back to the forefront of her mind, and she groaned.

A deep chuckle caught her attention, angering her and blissfully distracting her.

She snapped her bright red eyes up to stare at the source of the sound.

James sat on the edge of the motel bed, his legs spread, elbows on his knees. Victoria was kneeling on the mattress behind him, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Both were watching her, amused by her discomfort.

"What's wrong, Isabella?" James asked, smiling his predator smile. Victoria smirked, pressing her cheek to James's ear while she studied their 'guest.'

"Do we _have_ to stay here, James?" Bella hissed, irritated that it sounded as though she were begging.

"Of course. Aren't you tired of sleeping in the woods?"

Victoria giggled at her mate's joke. James just grinned. Bella scowled back at him.

"Why, dear?" Victoria's voice was achingly sweet, only irritating Bella more because she knew any kindness the woman offered was false. "Are you uncomfortable here?"

Bella's response was a growl, causing both of her companions to laugh. James's laugh was deep and rough, while Victoria's was a low, sultry giggle. Both of them sounded like sex to Bella, and she focused on her disgust with that thought in order to ignore the burn civilization brought her.

The two other vampires must have noticed that same alluring quality in each other's voices, because the turned to each other and kissed passionately.

Bella stared at them for a long moment, remembering the way her cheeks would once have filled with blood at the sight. Now she just let the embarrassment wash over her without any physical manifestation. She didn't like it, but awkwardness was more bearable than the pain of her thirst.

"Couldn't you at least have gotten me a separate room?"

James and Victoria clung to one another for another long moment, and Bella allowed her fingers to dig into her knees. She didn't look away, even though she was revolted and humiliated.

Eventually they broke apart and James offered her a complacent grin while Victoria kissed a trail down his neck. "If you don't want to be here, Bella, get lost. You could go ask for your own room."

James laughed at the idea, knowing Bella wouldn't dare talk to a human, though his laughter turned into a hiss when Victoria bit his shoulder. She licked over the spot affectionately.

Bella stood.

"Don't go far, now…" James murmured, his voice husky.

Bella practically threw herself out of the room, and an instant later she was leaning out over a railing. The motel room opened directly onto a balcony, and James had gotten a second-story room.

Bella closed her eyes, leaning away from the building and taking a slow, experimental breath. The night air was cool, but fire burned in her chest. They were right in the middle of some city, surrounded on every side for at least a mile by thousands of humans.

Venom filled her mouth at the very thought.

She shuddered. She was so thirsty… and so sickened by herself.

She swung up onto the railing carefully, and then threw herself up onto the roof of the motel. She stumbled slightly, scrabbling to keep her grip, and then sat down abruptly. She estimated she had maybe an hour until dawn. She prayed James and Victoria would be done by then, so she could go back inside. At least then there'd be a nice, solid wall between her and the burning atmosphere.

Not, of course, that a wall would help very much; it wouldn't even slow her down.

She hated they way she lived now, surviving off the blood of innocent humans, but there was nothing she could do. She was an uncontrollable newborn. She didn't have the willpower to resist when their warm blood was thrust under her nose, as her _coven_ so often did… She couldn't help herself – she took. She'd take and take and take until she was sated… until she regained control. And then…

If she were capable of being sick, she would have starved to death by now. She would never have been able to keep their blood down. It satisfied her thirst, but it was the most disgusting thing she'd ever done. It appalled her that her body could crave what every other part of her rejected.

Sometimes, when they were traveling through wilderness (which James avoided because it put Bella at ease), she would sneak away from them and hunt animals. Their blood was nowhere near as satisfying, but much more palatable. She would much rather glut herself on animals than on people, which she would do if she were even the slightest bit thirsty when they arrived in a new town.

She was only the slightest bit thirsty now, having gorged just yesterday when they'd accidentally crossed paths with a herd of dear. James and Victoria couldn't stop her once she started to hunt. They wouldn't try. She was free to act any way that she wished, or any way that her instincts forced her to act. The only thing they would stop her from doing was running away.

She'd run away once. She'd learned not to do so again.

Below her, on the balcony, a door opened. She slithered down the roof, not trusting herself to stand, and leaned over the edge to see if it were either of her companions.

It wasn't.

The young man looked up at her, startled, and she stared back, just as surprised. His scent hit her full on, causing her throat to burn. She froze, staying completely still in an attempt to control her body. She studied his appearance, desperate to distract herself from his smell.

He was perhaps as tall as Jasper had been, with curly dark hair like Emmett's, but longer. He wore loose slacks and tennis shoes, and a partially buttoned shirt that was tucked sloppily into his pants. His eyes were green and bright, wide – with surprise? Or fear? He had a splash of freckles across the bridge of his nose and over the crinkles around his eyes. His cheeks were slowly flushing, and that was what did him in.

He smelled positively delicious, and the visible evidence of his blood kicked in Bella's instincts. She smiled her predator smile, the new one she'd unconsciously acquired weeks ago for her first kill.

The fool actually smiled back.

Bella swung down from the roof of the motel, landing with only the slightest stumble. The human wouldn't even notice. She stood straight and grinned up at him, listening as his heartbeat kicked up a notch. She reveled in the sound, and stepped closer to him. "Hello…" she drawled, her voice low.

"Hi." His blush was fuller, and she reached up a cold hand to feel his hot cheek. He gasped at her touch, but didn't back away. "I'm Jonas," he murmured, as though his name mattered.

Of course, she would always remember it, but it wouldn't save his life.

"Jonas," she cooed, pulling his face down to her as though into a kiss. At the last instant, she blew a sweet breath into his face, and turned her head to catch his throat with her teeth.


	2. Consumed

Two vampires made a stop before leaving Forks.

Charlie answered the door, letting Edward and Alice in from the rain.

"I had heard you were leaving," Charlie said while they stood at the foot of the stairs. He didn't feel comfortable sitting in either the living room or the kitchen – that was too casual.

It had been over a month since Bella had run away, and no one had heard from her. Charlie knew the statistics, knew that Bella had left behind everything she cared about. She wouldn't have disappeared if she'd had a choice… and if she hadn't had a choice, there was no way she could have survived this long.

"We are," Edward said, but he wasn't looking at Charlie, he was staring up the stairs. His eyes flickered to the chief, but didn't meet his gaze before staring back upstairs. "Chief Swan, do you mind if I…?"

Charlie closed his eyes. "Go ahead," he said gruffly.

Edward walked up the stairs slowly, while behind him Alice pulled Charlie into the kitchen. Edward went up her stairs, and into her room. He stood right beside her bed, staring around and memorizing her room. He took a deep breath, catching her scent on everything, letting it burn its way down his throat. He fell to his knees, laying his head on her bed and just breathing.

He would never smell her again. He would never need to worry about the burn as she tore down his throat, never need to restrain himself from her again. Already her scent in this room was old; not faint, because it had saturated everything in the past few months… but not fresh. Eventually it would be gone completely, and there would be nothing left in the world that could cause him so much pain and pleasure in equal measures.

He doubted, truly, that anything could cause him pleasure again, beyond the dull satisfaction of the revenge he would exact.

Downstairs, his sister was sitting across the table from the lonely man who owned the house.

"He wants to go to Phoenix." Alice said solemnly, watching the rain through the window.

"…She never made it to Phoenix. There's nothing there." Charlie's voice was bitter.

"We know. He just… He wants to drive it. Go the way she went. I think he thinks…" Her lips pressed tightly together.

"What?"

She sighed. "I think he wants to find something. I think he thinks that if he follows her trail, he'll find some clue… maybe find the guy that took her."

Charlie laughed without humor. "He won't. There's officers and detectives all up and down the highway looking for clues."

"I know that."

"So what does he expect?" Charlie demanded, angry suddenly.

Alice sighed again. "We don't expect anything, Charlie. But we loved her, too. It's hard to give up, even though we know she's…" She couldn't get out the last word. "I don't think he'll ever really stop looking for her."

Charlie closed his eyes. He could understand that.

"I'm going to go with him, you know," Alice said softly. "Even if it's just driving back and forth between Forks and Phoenix…"

Charlie looked over at her then. She looked so old in that instant, but he knew she was only 17, just like… "You kids need to stay in school."

Alice shrugged. "He's going. He doesn't care about anything else. And I'm not going to let him go alone."

"She wouldn't want you guys to throw away your lives just because – "

"She would understand." Edward's voice was soft. Charlie turned to see him standing just outside the kitchen, and it was so surreal. His dark eyes were full of a pain that made Charlie's pale in comparison, but he didn't look broken. He looked as though he'd been frozen in that instant when he'd realized Bella was gone. He wasn't a boy anymore; he was a man of ice. "She would not like it. She would fight me every step, like she always does, I know that…" and a faint hint of a pained smirk floated over his face for an instant, "…but she would understand. I am the cause of all of this." He closed his eyes against the pain.

"Edward…" Alice said softly, standing.

"It wasn't you, Edward," Charlie said uncomfortably, knowing it was true. "It wasn't you, it was this place… She loved you," he bit out. He didn't like it, but that hardly mattered now.

"I know," Edward said without opening his eyes. Alice took his hand in her tiny one, and he squeezed it like it was the only thing to hold on to.

After a long moment of silence, it was too much for Charlie. "So you're leaving."

"Yes." His eyes opened, and he stared intensely at Charlie. "I want you to know, that if I somehow find him, if I find the bastard that took her from me…"

"Don't tell me what you'd do," Charlie cut in. "I'm still the chief of police here, Cullen. I'd hate to have to help put you away for something I'd have done myself."

Edward smiled, a pained grimace to let Charlie know he understood. "Goodbye, then, Charlie…"

Charlie nodded, leading them to the door. He paused before opening it. "Edward… Don't let this consume you."

For a moment, Edward's resolve flickered, and Alice saw the future he'd choose if he didn't chase after James. That is, she saw that he didn't have a future. But it was only for a moment, and then their path was set again to seek revenge.

"I have already been consumed, Chief Swan," he said gravely. "I have no purpose without Bella. If I do not do this, I have nothing left."

Charlie did not know what he could say to this devoted boy. It wasn't healthy, he knew, to be so committed to someone who was no longer there. But this was how his love for Bella manifested, and it made Charlie's heart ache in a bittersweet way to see this proof that his daughter was loved in return.

"Goodbye, then, Edward."

He opened the door, and the vampires left to exact revenge.


	3. Distracted

"_Carlisle, it's bad…"_

_"What is it, Alice? What do you see?" Carlisle's hands were tight on the steering wheel with worry. Esme, beside him, was wringing her hands. Alice was in the back with Jasper, Jasper's hand on her shoulder comforting._

_"It hinges on whether or not James wants to kill Bella… or change her." Alice murmured, and Carlisle's eyes flickered to hers in the mirror while Jasper tightened his grip. "If he bites her, Edward will kill him before we get there, and then we'll have to worry about Bella. If he doesn't bite her… then when Edward runs in, James will tear him apart and Bella will bleed to death before we get there." She said the last in a rush to get it all out. She could see both futures clear in her mind, as James debated back and forth._

_They drove on in silence for a long moment, before Alice moaned. One of the visions had cemented itself in her mind. "He hasn't bitten her," she cried hopelessly, watching the fight play out in her mind. "Edward's there now…" she added, as his entrance passed from the future to a memory. She watched in horror as every future movement became the past, and she relayed the fight out loud in as close to real time as she could. She flashed ahead, to James piling Edward's body in the center of the room, starting a fire and lighting up the whole building to keep them out once they arrived. He would stand in the center of the room, looking back and forth between Edward's remains and Bella's bleeding body, while fire licked the walls of the studio…_

_Just then she was drawn back to the pseudo-present, back to the fight. James was just about to bite Edward fiercely on the shoulder…and with a sharp jerk, Edward's arm would tear away._

_Alice moaned, burying her face in her hands as the future became the past._

_"Tell us, Alice," Carlisle commanded. She had been silent for a while before the moan, and they were waiting for details._

_"James removed Edward's arm," Alice said lowly, a lick of anger flaring up. Jasper felt the same anger and fear dripping from everyone in the car. Alice didn't relay anymore of the fight, because it was now an execution._

_"We're almost there, Alice," Carlisle was saying. "Tell us what we'll find…"_

_"He's going to try to burn down the studio with Edward and Bella still inside."_

_Esme stifled a sob._

_"…He's starting the fire now," Alice whispered, wishing she didn't need to tell Esme, but knowing they needed to know. "It'll grow quickly, the whole building's made of wood and varnish… Hurry, Carlisle, or we won't be able to get to him…"_

_Carlisle spun them to a stop in front of the flaming studio, and they all rushed out of the car, streaking towards the blaze. "It's not to Edward yet, we can get him out if we hurry!" Alice shrieked, charging into the fire._

_She bit back a scream as the flames licked her very flammable skin, but pushed on, knowing that if she hurried she could get to Edward before the fire devoured her. She reminded herself that the burns would heal, that only venom could scar, and that Edward was in no shape to save himself from the inferno._

_She heard Emmett forcing his way through the fire beside her, and knew the others were behind them. She took a moment to make sure that they'd all be able to make it back out before too much damage could be done, and was relieved at the vision of the six of them standing outside, carrying the pieces of Edward. They would all be marred with streaks of black ash, wounds that would take days to heal thoroughly._

_She broke through the flames, feeling some of her flesh blackened and smoking. She stumbled over to Edward, not breathing the disgusting smoke, and gathered up as much of him as she could carry. It was a disturbing experience, holding pieces of her brother._

_"There's an open door that hasn't caught fire yet, this way," Alice said, clutching Edward to her chest, too worried to take him back out through the fire in his fragile state._

_It was easy to make their way out the back door; they didn't have to charge through any more fire. Alice went to Esme, who was waiting for them by the car. She looked as though she would be ill if she were mortal, but she helped Alice, trying not to think about the pieces of Edward they laid in the back seat. _

_The others came around a moment later, Carlisle holding something hidden under his shirt, which he'd removed._

_Alice grabbed Jasper's hand tightly, and they all stood around the car, feeling tension ricochet back and forth between them. _

_"We need to go, the fire department will be here in a moment," Alice said._

_"I'll drive the car home," Carlisle said tensely. Without another word, Esme slid into the backseat with her son._


	4. Victim

A small gasp slipped through the young man's lips. Bella's face was held into his neck. The scent of blood filled the air.

Bella could _taste_ the beat of his heart, against her lips, across her tongue. She could hear the soft sloshing of the blood as it filled her mouth and coated her throat beautifully, quenching the fire and brightening her eyes.

The door behind her slammed open, and her prey tried to turn his head to see, but Bella gripped him firmly, her icy fingers pressed into the skin of his cheek. She stroked her thumb gently against his cooling blush, willing him to hold still, not to fight her. He couldn't escape if he tried, but if he struggled he'd make a mess, and she couldn't miss a drop.

He didn't struggle. He didn't pull away, or look over to where James and Victoria stood half-dressed in the doorway. Instead, he groaned lowly, the sound vibrating against Bella's lips and echoing in her ears. He let his head fall back, and Bella let her hand slide down from his face to cradle his neck, her thumb now stroking idly over her prey's sharp chin.

He reached up and wrapped his arms around the woman who was killing him, and pulled her closer.

Bella's eyes snapped open. Her face was tense and her eyes were narrowed, but she didn't pull away. She felt sick at the taste of the life blood pouring down her throat, but she couldn't pull away. She felt the man's big, warm body fold around her, pulling her in even as he filled her up with his hot, wet blood…

Suddenly it was such a physical thing, she felt as though she were violating him. Not just killing him, but spoiling him, too… contaminating him.

He moaned, the sound vibrating against Bella's hand and washing her with a wave of guilt. He held her tightly against him, and she wanted to cry.

He'd said his name was Jonas. Jonas was only a few years older than her, maybe a college student. Jonas was tall and handsome, and probably had a girlfriend somewhere in this city, or maybe in the motel room he'd come out of. Jonas was warm and safe and _human_.

Bella was hard and cold and deadly, and still he pulled her into him.

She wished she could have kissed him instead, like he'd probably thought she was going to. She damned her instincts yet again, as she sucked the life out of this young man who wanted to hold her like she was human.

She fought with herself to pull away, but she couldn't.

His arms slowly went slack and dropped from her back, and his shallow breaths turned faint. She had to work to get the last drops of blood out; his heart was struggling. Eventually it gave up.

She kept her lips pressed to his skin long after she'd drained all his blood. She lowered him slowly to the floor, hesitant to pull away from his warm body, even though it was cooling now in death.

That low chuckle she hated rolled over her, and she spun around, crouching beside Jonas's body. James was standing there, shirtless and with his pants unbuttoned, watching her and laughing. Victoria leaned out of the doorway to see, tugging James's shirt on. She didn't smile. Both of their eyes were tight, despite James's laughter.

"I didn't think you'd take me seriously about asking for a room, Bella. I especially wasn't expecting you to just take one. How was he?"

Bella cringed and stood, staring him down. He just chuckled again, moving to pull Victoria out of their room and against his side with an arm around her shoulder. A thought occurred to Bella, and she edged away from Jonas's room nervously, trying not to focus on it and refusing to breath. She couldn't help herself from listening intently, even though she didn't hear anything.

"What is it, Isabella?" James asked, watching her eyes dart to the closed door.

Bella debated silently for a moment, then gave in. She needed to know. "Is there… anyone in his room?"

James probably knew exactly what she was asking, but instead he just raised an eyebrow. "In _what_ room?"

"That one." She jerked her chin towards it.

"Why?" His grin was arrogant, and she knew he knew but wouldn't say anyways.

"Because I… Look, just tell me, is there someone in there waiting for Jonas to come back?" Mentally she cringed at using his name, but she wasn't just going to call him 'the dead guy.' He'd been human. He had a name, and a personality, and a family and friends somewhere. He'd had a whole life she'd taken away, and a little discomfort for his sake was the least she could give.

"No. Someone's probably waiting for the little fuckwit, but not in that room."

Bella almost growled at him. Almost. Instead, she bent down and picked up Jonas's body under his arms.

James and Victoria watched her with amusement. "Hey, look, we're gonna go hunt," James said, rubbing his hand down his mate's arm. "Your little snack made us hungry. Stay here, we'll be back before dawn."

Bella didn't answer, but they didn't need permission. They turned and walked away, probably wary of more humans wandering around at this hour and seeing them jump to the ground. She didn't watch them go, but she heard them laughing as they hit the stairs.

She frowned viciously when they were gone, and backed her way into Jonas's room, dragging him with her. She could easily have lifted him, but he was so tall it would have been awkward to carry him. She did lift him up into the bed, laying him back over the rumpled sheets. She brushed his hair out of his face, and glanced around the room.

It was a complete and utter mess, just like a guy's room should be. Dirty and clean clothes were scattered everywhere, takeout was on the table, and an empty pizza box seemed to be serving as a garbage can…or garbage tray.

The entire room smiled like him, like Jonas. She'd bet he'd been living out of this room, though she was relying on the mess rather than her sense of smell – all of her abilities were magnified, but that didn't mean she had any idea what any of it meant.

And she was currently trying to ignore her sense of smell, avoiding breathing. Most of the things she could smell screamed "food" to her new instincts, for one thing.

For another, she was trying to forget why the burn was now no more than a ticklish ache in her throat.


	5. Pursuit

Arizona at dusk. Hot and dry like the memory of a fire that still painted the sky. The sun had set, but the cool relief of night had yet to eclipse the heat.

The Cullens stared at the charred remains of an old studio, the site where, just over a month ago, their newest and most fragile family member was murdered. All of them carried heavily the guilt of their failure; the edges of the shame were blackened by memories of the fire.

Edward resisted the urge to shudder as he remembered his own part in the event. He closed his eyes as the pain washed over him – remembered pain of his defeat, and constant pain of his loss. He would never be able to forgive himself for losing her.

Jasper, knowing exactly what Edward was going through, reached out and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. He knew better than to use his ability to try to help Edward forgive himself – the self-hatred was buried too deep, and Edward would never let it go. Instead, he just let his brother know that they were all there for him, and that they would all follow him.

Alice held Edward's hand. She rarely released it anymore. Alice and Edward had always had a closer relationship than their other siblings. They both lived in one another's minds, so they both understood one another in a soul-deep way that the rest of their family had trouble appreciating. The others tried to help Edward come to terms with Bella's death, but only Alice, whose pain and love for the lost girl were nearly as much as her brother's, ever managed to give him any comfort at all.

Edward clung to that comfort.

Around him, Edward could hear the worry and guilt of his family, and so he opened his eyes to face the challenge of revenge. "Well, Jasper?" he asked finally, turning to look back over his shoulder at his brother. He attempted a smile to show his gratitude, but it was a weak and strained thing.

'_It's okay, brother,_' Jasper thought back, understanding and acceptance coloring his thoughts and drifting off of him through his ability.

"Where do we begin?" Edward finished.

Jasper patted his shoulder twice before walking to the ruined studio. "Give me a moment," he told them, his voice that of a commander.

He circled the wreckage twice, his mind filled with memories of that night. He recalled the building enflamed…

He paused somewhere on the opposite side of the rubble, recalling where they'd exited the building. James had left one door passable, and Jasper could only assume that he'd used it for his own escape.

He studied the immediate area for a long moment, debating possible paths their enemy could have taken. He knelt, trying to catch even the faintest hint of a scent. It had been over a month, and he knew chances were slim, but it rarely rained in Phoenix and a vampire's scent would stand out to him.

He was in luck. The barest whiff of venom still held, though it wouldn't be enough to follow. '_Might there be a way to amplify the scent somehow?_' His mind drifted through scenarios where a scent might be easier to follow; one of these was Edward's affinity for Bella's scent.

'_James was with Bella for a while…_' he realized. He cringed away from the wave of pain he felt coming from his brother, and stood, looking across the charred remains of the building. He met Edward's gaze. '_I don't want to say this. I don't want to ask. I'm sorry. But there's a chance…We might be able to follow Bella's scent on him._ You_ might. You could pick her out of this mess, whereas to any of the rest of us the trail would be too faint. If her scent was on him…There's a possibility, and I think it's our best option._'

Edward closed his eyes briefly, then pulled away from Alice to go to Jasper's side. "Where?" was all he asked.

"Here." He pointed. "I can still catch our scents, I can only assume his is still here, as well… and if her scent was on him still…"

Edward tuned him out, leaning down and closing his eyes. He breathed deeply, letting his mind fill with the smells and focusing on finding _hers_…

He groaned when he found it. "Yes… Her scent was on him, it's here…" His jaw clenched and a number of caustic emotions poured out of him as his mind, unsolicited, presented scenarios. Images of James pinning Bella to a wall, holding her down, stroking her cheek while she cowered from him, dragging her body across the floor… the smirk on his face as he left her to burn… Of course her scent was all over him.

His hands shook. He clenched them tightly, but they still vibrated with his turmoil. He turned away from his family's sympathy.

"This way," he said, leading them into the night.


	6. Perpetuate

**A/N: I had the order wrong on some of the flashback chapters. I've decided to keep them in chronological order, so Perpetuate goes here. Convalescence will be a later chapter. Hopefully I'll add more to it - I was very unhappy with how short it was. But no promises there.  
Sorry I didn't put enough forethought into this to do it right the first time.**

_When the burn that had permeated her limbs began to fade, Bella was confused and afraid. What was happening? She knew nothing but fire. Nothing before, nothing ahead, nothing beyond._

_The flames that had defined her existence for so long were shifting, changing, slowly moving to the center of her being. She had not before realized any particular direction or shape to her body. When everything that had ever existed was one eternal stretch of fire, how could you recognize its shape? Now, however, she was aware of her center, as it burned hotter and brighter, the rest of her universe paling in comparison._

_It occurred to her to be terrified of this change. What if it brought back that wrenching despair? She barely held the hazy memory of an anguish that tore her apart. It was the only thing she remembered from before the pain, and even it was edged with the first licks of flame. Fire burned away emotions, but if the fire was changing, would it make room for that emotional pain to return? She didn't know anything else._

_As her inferno continued to shift, she became aware of a world beyond herself. She could hear sounds that she could not recognize, and feel sensations across skin she had forgotten had existed. Her mind, which seemed to be a separate entity now, supplied words for her new world. _Water_ was that soft, heavy murmur. _Wind_ was the high whistle, and the cool brush across her skin. The thick, fluctuating, humming sound – that would be _voices_, people speaking. She could not understand what they said for a long time._

_She felt a fluttering, fast pressure in her chest at the brightest point of fire; a frightened rhythm that seemed to keep pace with the diminishing burn. It was steadily picking up pace, and she felt some anticipation, anxiously awaiting some quickly approaching event._

_The fire leaked completely out of her fingertips, leaving them cooler than she could have imagined anything could be, and she gasped, discovering her own lungs._

_She studied the change in fascination now. The pain slowly but surely vacated every premises of her body, taking refuge in that tight, brightly-burning point in her chest. The fire there pulsed erratically, thump-thumping in her ears. The sound felt pointless and sad._

_After a long stretch of time, the only part of her body left burning was that single point of light in her chest, pounding away in fear and futility, until it, too, died, smoldering down to nothing and ceasing its beat._

_And so eternity ended._

_Bella opened her eyes, and found four brilliant rubies floating above her, staring into her own bright red eyes. James and Victoria smirked in perverse victory._

_"Good morning, Isabella," James laughed._

_With a snarl and a rush of hatred that surprised her, Bella launched herself at him. From lying on her back, she flipped him over and forced him into the ground. Her hands, twisted into claws, caught his face and neck, vicious and desperate to do any sort of damage. He struggled beneath her, but could not overcome her newborn strength._

_She realized with dread that his smirk was still in place, just as she felt Victoria's teeth pressing against her neck. She instantly stilled._

_"Hush now, pet…" Victoria murmured against her skin, keeping her lips pressed against the tendon that ran to her shoulder. Bella shook with rage, but her fear kept her still._

_James pushed her up again, and she allowed herself to be removed. Victoria took her arms and held them behind her back, and the three of them stood._

_"Let me go," she hissed._

_"So you can attack my mate again? I think not, darling," Victoria cooed against her ear, and Bella shuddered._

_"I'll leave, I'll leave you alone," she argued, repulsed that she sounded desperate, but knowing she was. She just wanted to go home. "Just let me go."_

_James just shook his head, smirking. "Of course not. You're staying with us, now, Isabella."_

_Her fury mounted, and she wanted nothing more than to destroy him, but she didn't stand a chance with his mate watching his back; she couldn't even move with Victoria holding her at this angle._

_"I want you as a member of this coven."_

_Bella stared at him incredulously. "What?!" she spat._

_"I want you to replace Laurent, who left us at your bidding. I want to keep you around, Isabella." He laughed. "You're too much fun to let go."_

_"No…" She kept shaking her head, appalled at the idea. "No…"_

_"Where else will you go?" His voice was reasonable. His expression – and his statement – were anything but._

_"Away from you!" she bit out._

_"You can't go _home_, Bella. You'd kill your parents." His face softened insincerely, and he spoke as though to a child with outrageous demands. "And your other family is dead."_

_Bella stopped struggling in Victoria's arms._

_"You don't know anything about being a vampire," James continued. "If you go off alone, you'll just hurt yourself and anyone you come across."_

_Bella was flashing through her last memories before the fire. James had been toying with her, playfully torturing her… and Edward had arrived, but James was ready for him… and they had fought… and Edward had… had…_

_"…he's dead?" she whispered. She remembered the horrible crunching sound and the smell of venom in the air._

_"Who?" James asked, his face a patient mask, but malice was in his eyes._

_Bella tried to remember… After the fight, James had started the fire, to burn the whole studio. He'd stood between Edward's remains and Bella's bleeding body, then come to her and thrown her brusquely over his shoulder… and that was the last. That was as far as she could recall._

_After a moment, it was clear Bella was not going to answer. "Oh, your Edward? Yes. Don't you remember?" Bella just stared at him, so he chuckled and continued. "I tore him to pieces, and then burned his body in your old dance studio." His voice turned decisive and reproving, "Which is the same I'll do to you if you ever try to run." He leaned in close so she could see his eyes clearly, letting his smirk bleed through. "If you ever run away from me, Isabella, you'd better be damned sure I can't catch you. I love a good chase… and when I finally find you, I'll destroy you."_


End file.
